Reform is coming

It is no longer a question of whether Milwaukee County government will change; it's only a question of how much. The County Board recently approved a reform measure in the hopes of heading off a more severe reform bill moving through the state Legislature. That hope appears to be in vain. The full Assembly approved (along party lines) the bill proposed by Rep. Joe Sanfelippo on Wednesday, as did a Senate committee. Although we support that bill over the county measure, we do think it could be improved. A referendum to be held in spring 2014 should offer voters not only a choice on whether to cut supervisors' pay in half but whether voters want to cut the board's budget as well. Under the bill as it stands, the state will impose the budget cut regardless of the wishes of voters. The state should set the parameters for the County Board, which is an arm of state government, but it should not necessarily be setting line items in the county budget. One measure we'd like to see removed from the bill requires approval by the Intergovernmental Cooperation Council, essentially an advisory group of chief executives in the county, of any joint service agreements by the county. At a time when regional cooperation can play a key role in saving taxpayer money and helping governments be more efficient, adding another hoop to jump through doesn't make much sense. We hope those changes are made before final approval by the Senate next week. but even if they're not, it's good to know that county residents will finally see significant reform of county government.